I saw someone graceful and brave this weekend. He dealt out three rows of seven cards and still fooled a roomful of jaded magicians. His friends were a testament to his character, and I was glad to be with them. I wouldn’t have been anywhere else on earth.

As I was in England, I couldn’t help thinking…

“We few. We merry few.”

I, in turn, took my turn. I was not as good as the rest, or as well rested. I made some schoolboy errors, and I felt the awkwardness I haven’t known since childhood.

“The dye is cast The dice are rolled I feel like shit you look like gold.”

I made new friends, and swore with old ones. I drank, and I laughed, and I was in awe of their skills. Their camraderie is odd, but it is never boring. Many people say they don’t want a boring life, but they do not seek these pieces of strange.

On the plane I found a torn piece of newspaper was tucked into my copy of The Expert at the Card Table. It held a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I don’t know where it came from and I probably never will, but then, I’m not afraid of not knowing…

“To know even one life breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have suceeded.”

My friend, you have succeeded. Many, many, times over.